Mirant Receives SEC Inquiry About Restatements

The company said the SEC is looking into its 2001 restatements, disclosed last week.

Mirant ( MIR) said it received an informal inquiry from the Atlanta office of the Securities and Exchange Commission for information relating to the company's accounting practices.

Mirant said the inquiry concerns last week's news that an internal accounting review of its 2001 financial statements had revealed overstatements of potentially more than $200 million. The firm said it had overstated a gas inventory by $85 million, an accounts payable liability by about $100 million, and an accounts receivable asset by as much as $68 million.

In a press release sent in response to the SEC action, Mirant Senior Vice President and General Counsel Doug Miller said, "The notification letter we received did not surprise us. When companies report accounting issues, informal inquiries from the SEC usually follow, especially in this day and age."

Mirant's accounting review is still ongoing, but an update is not planned until the review has been completed.

The company also revealed that the SEC requested additional information on any shareholder litigation, any round-trip trades in which the company has engaged, and the "Federal Energy and Regulatory Commission's investigation into energy-trading practices in the western United States."

Mirant said it plans to cooperate fully with the SEC request, adding that "transparency has, and always will be, a cornerstone of Mirant's code of conduct."

Shares of Mirant were falling about 7% to $3.23 on the news after closing at $3.49 Friday.